Hommel Mangas
Anticipation is brewing in my heart and soul.
It’s officially spring on Monday, March 20! Happy Spring Equinox to all of us — the day when the sun is positioned directly above the earth’s equator, bringing light and warmth back to our Northern Hemisphere.
By the time you read this on Saturday the high will be about 32 degrees with a low of 24 degrees. But don’t despair fellow Hoosiers — warmth is on the way. And just to heat your shivering Johnson County hearts, you should know it’s currently -3 in Yellowknife, Canada, today.
I always look forward to spring’s coming attractions:
April 8 and 9 are Easter celebration at area churches — they’d all love for you to join them. I was reminiscing that there was only one time in the last six decades where I did not commemorate Easter with my family in Johnson County. That once was in 1997, when Steve and I celebrated during a YMCA Easter service in Delhi, India, praising with believers in five different languages.
For those of you with littles, at 10 a.m. April 8 is a community Easter egg hunt at the DriveHubler.com Amphitheater at Young’s Creek Park in Franklin. They have anticipated preparing 11,000 pre-stuffed eggs, special prizes and candy.
Greenwood Parks Department is having a “Breakfast with the Bunny” on April 1, though you have to reserve your table for this one, which includes breakfast for six people and an Easter Bunny photo for $45 per table (kids under 2 don’t count in the total of 6.)
The county boasts miles and miles of walking and hiking trails in different areas. You can find some new-to-you trail maps here: aspirejohnsoncounty.com/explore-johnson-county-trails
On May 6, my favorite annual spring attraction is the Garden Celebration at the Johnson County fairgrounds in Scott and Herring halls. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., plant-lovers and gardeners can peruse the 45 garden-related vendors, meet garden professionals and take advantage of free give-aways (saplings!!!) to boost you from spring to summer. My pencil-thick redbud sapling I received merely four years ago, is now 7 feet tall and ready to burst forth it’s bright purple-pink “red buds.” This is always an ideal place and time to buy a Mother’s Day present, or better yet, take your mom on a date. Diane Blazek, the executive director of All-American Selections (AAS) and National Garden Bureau will give three 30-minute presentations. The third presentation, from 11:30 a.m. to noon, is a feel-good message about how “gardening is good for the mind, body and soul. From seed to maturity, gardens enhance life.”
Bring it on.
Janet Hommel Mangas grew up on the east side of Greenwood. The Center Grove area resident and her husband are the parents of three daughters. Send comments to [email protected].
